Theirs were among scores of stories as some 2,100 runners took part in the 26th Four Points by Sheraton Hyannis Marathon, Half Marathon, 10Km and Marathon Team Relay despite bitter cold, howling winds and an overnight snowstorm that nearly forced cancellation of the races.

"It was still dicey up until eight o'clock," said race director Paul Collyer. "The Barnstable DPW did a fantastic job. The Barnstable Police Department did their usual great job."

He said the unofficial count of about 2,100 finishers made it the biggest Hyannis ever, even though as many as 500 registrants elected not to run.

Stringer, 60, of Osterville, was not among them.

"It was great," said the winner of the men's age 60-69 group. But it was also, for him, drenched in poignance. Unofficially the person who has run Hyannis more times than anyone, this time he was running just weeks after the death of his sister, "my hero," Sally MacDonald.

Though she battled illness, she always supported Stringer, a man who runs 100-mile races, never mind marathons. He well appreciates that many roll their eyes at what he does, but MacDonald came to his races to cheer him on, even though in his eyes, struggles like hers make a runner's trivial.

"There were a couple of moments Sunday when you'd see somebody whose outline or silhouette would make you think " he said, leaving the thought unfinished. "It was very emotional."

It was also cold, even for a winter race.

"This was as bad as I've seen it," Stringer said. "It was a desperate struggle out there, really, really cold. You also had this whipping wind."

The race became a desperate struggle for Karukas near the end. The 17-year-old Barnstable High School senior wanted to finish in less than three hours, 15 minutes, and he was on pace to do about 3:10 -- until he hit the last mile.

Nate Roberts, a classmate and teammate on the BHS cross-country and track teams, bicycled the final 13 miles with him, and in the last miles, after 20 or 21, Karukas was ever more grateful.

"That last six miles was probably the most painful and slow six miles I've ever run," he said. "It really set in bad at the 25-mile mark. My legs completely bound up and cramped up."

He slowed to a walk for a couple of minutes, then found a last well of determination. Still, the final mile took 11 or 12 minutes, he said. He finished in 3:16:20, first by nearly half an hour among the three in the age 17 and under category and 41st overall.

"It's such a great feeling to get across the finish line," he said. "It was a good experience. I enjoyed it. I definitely want to do another one, who knows when."